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Steam Sale Day 6: It’s About To Get Real In Fort Friendship

I’m not the only one who’s been staring at the background picture, am I? Just what’s going on in Fort Friendship right now? Cyl has been stalking around for a bit, and seeing all of those sparks isn’t doing much to help me. Guys, someone hold me. I’m afraid for the safety of Fort Friendship….

Your daily reminder: If it’s not a Daily Deal or a Flash Sale, hold off on buying it until the 22nd. You never know what’s going to be on sale next, and the last thing you want to do is over pay on a game that will be half price the next day.

Call of Duty: Black Ops – $19.99 – Black Ops is everything you’ve come to expect from a Call of Duty game, and that will tell you pretty much everything you need to know if it’s for you. The shooting is tight, the title seems to have a sense of humor and there’s a fun multiplayer experience here. The zombie game mods manage to be both intense and ridiculous at the same time, something most games can’t pull off. If you’re a fan of the series, you’ve probably already bought into this title and people who aren’t fans of COD’s fast paced gunplay won’t find anything here to convert them. However, with Black Ops 2 coming out later this year, this is a fantastic time to buy in and see what the fuss is all about

Grand Theft Auto IV – $4.99 – Depending on who you ask, Grand Theft Auto IV was either a masterpiece of a sign of the franchise slipping away from what made it great. The more serious turn in storytelling was fantastic for the maturation of the series (and the medium as a whole to be honest) but many others (myself included) found the game to be a bit sterile and lacking that soul they had grown to expect from the titles. The DLC does offer a bit of back, but this isn’t the same GTA you’ve played in the past. I’d be doing you a disservice if I failed to mention the modding community here as the complete overhaul of the game is downright impressive here to the point where it can be mistaken for a Blu-Tay film at first glance. GTA IVis under no circumstances a bad game, and many gamers will find it to be the perfect fix for their sandbox needs. However, those of us who miss the wild and wacky aspects of the previous titles will have to look towards Saints Row or wait for GTA V

Company of Heroes Complete Pack – $12.48 – Company of Heroes is one of the all-time great RTS series. While it’s easy to dismiss any game set in WWII, Company of Heroes adds a lot to the genre. Suppression Fire, cover, flanking and direct fire control all make an appearance setting this game apart from almost everything else here. You can safely pass on Tales Of Valor since it doesn’t add that much outside of some missions and modes, but the other two in the pack are well worth buying into.

Wargame: European Escalation – $19.99 – European Escalation didn’t break down any walls, but it’s a strong RTS game with a thriving community. The multiplayer is competitive and fun offering hours of entertainment. The host can change the victory requirements before the match, so it’s not uncommon to be done with a game in under a half hour, something that can be unheard of with other RTS titles. RTS fans will love sinking their teeth into this, but without a demo I’d have to suggest that gamers new to the genre look somewhere a bit cheaper to see if it’s something they’d be interested in.

Stronghold 3 Gold – $13.59 – If you offered me a choice between paying money for Stronghold 3 or spending one hour in a pitch black locked room with Rosie O’Donnel while covered in honey, I would have to really consider taking my odds with Rosie. At least then I can blame all of my suffering on someone else.

LIMBO – $2.49 – LIMBO is one of the most unique titles on the market. The game is dripping with symbolism and manages to tell a gripping story without having a single word of dialogue. While the visuals are all black and grey, the artists used their limited color palette to masterful levels to create something striking. My one complaint with LIMBO is that there’s no reason to go back and play it once you’ve finished it the first time. Pick this one up since I don’t know if you can get a better story told for this price anywhere else.

Railworks 3 Train Simulator: 2012 – 3.49 – CHOO CHOO MOTHA F’R. Honestly, if you’re the type of gamer who is clamoring for a train simulator, you already have Railworks 3. The Railworks series is becoming famous for its sheer amount of DLC (which even with sale will run you $1030.06), but there’s nothing here for someone who isn’t already interested in trains. If you need to blow some money, pick it up and the trains versus zombies DLC, because that seems like a train wreck worth watching.

Spec Ops: The Line – $33.49 – Wow. I walked away from Spec Ops feeling dirty. At first glance, it’s easy to mistake this as any other one of the plethora of shooters out there where it’s you versus hordes of bad guys out to destroy the world. Hell, the game even starts out that way with the first mission. It doesn’t take long for the game to completely derail from that though and turn into the most intelligent third person shooter I’ve ever played. The mission becomes secondary towards the character arcs leaving you to connect the dots as you watch your men struggle and suffer through the horrors of war. This is one of, if not the, best story I’ve ever seen in a shooter. The multiplayer is forgettable at best and offensive at its worst. Look at this as a single player game with multiplayer tacked on. Be warned, if you’re the type to get uncomfortable in war movies when the line between good and bad blurs, you shouldn’t touch this one. For everyone else, this is as mature and challenging as the medium has gone so far.

I want to give one disclaimer on Spec Ops: The Line before I leave it behind. For any other prior service military, use your best judgment here. There are some moments here that could be dangerously close to triggers for PTSD if you’ve been in heavy combat. You know where your head is better than anyone else, but I wouldn’t be looking out for you if I didn’t at least give you some warning.

Indie Bundle VI – $9.99 – I’m tempted to recommend this bundle strictly on the back of AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!? …for the Awesome. The title is a strange hybrid of action and sports and is exactly what I imagine it would be like to go sky diving through a Salvador Dali painting. It’s easy to get the 10 bucks worth of enjoyment out of that one alone. SpaceChem is a bit of a harder sale due to its insane learning curve, but once you finally figure out how to play the game it’s one of the most unique puzzle titles on the market. Trauma is a novel take on how games need to be laid out and really stands out as an “art game”. My only complaint is that it’s possible to be done with the game in just a few hours.

And that’s day six, ladies and germs. So just how much cash have you blown so far?